Feds not ignoring the internet anymore

Several months back we wrote an article about how the government seemed to be quite far behind in terms of the Internet and the laws that we are governed by in today’s digital age.

It seems like the federal government may have read our article or, more likely, is finally starting to understand the legitimate threats that are possible through the Internet.

A proposed bill is now at the congressional level that is being sponsored by Sen. Joe Lieberman, who is an independent senator out of Connecticut.

Let’s take a look at the main points of this proposed legislation to see how it will affect the everyday American citizen and business.

The mainstay of the bill is surrounded by giving the president the emergency power to basically seize control or even shut down all or parts of the Internet in the United States.

This is not a small request nor should it be taken lightly. If this bill were to pass, private companies, which the government will name at a later time, such as Internet providers, search engines, or even private software companies, would have to comply with the federal government’s request to shut down, suspend or release control immediately, at the order of the president.

According to this proposed bill, the reason the federal government is claiming they should have this power and control is “to preserve those networks and assets that our country depends on for financial matters, security, power, transportation and so on. These are all areas of extreme importance in protecting the citizens and our country,” according to Lieberman.

As is the case with any law, there could be adverse affects that can be created by a legislation of this kind and could directly affect the private-sector companies.

Could there be unauthorized government access to private systems? What if the government shuts down a company or Internet provider by accident?

What happens to private server access that runs over the Internet?

These are all very important and pressing questions, but does the government have answers for them?

Apparently, in a recently added, revised bill there has been an additional paragraph added that in many ways is directed at dealing with the previous questions asked and we will both outline that bill and discuss its implications next week.

- George Bardissi